IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) reported Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings moved 2 percent higher despite costs related to its proposed acquisition of NYSE Euronext. The exchange said its net income of $129.5 million, or $1.76 per share, in the three-month period ended December 31, compared with $126.8 million, or $1.73 per share, in the same period one year ago. Excluding certain costs not linked to its core business, ICE's net income for the quarter rose 5 percent to $135 million, or $1.84 a share. ICE's total revenue fell a little more than 1 percent from a year ago, to $323.4 million. The results were better than the $1.74 per share and $321.1 million in revenue that analysts forecast, according to FactSet. The company said that it expects $10 million to $12 million of acquisition costs in the first quarter, mostly due to the NYSE purchase. It will also spend $20 million to $30 million in consolidating multiple locations in New York this year. For all of 2012, ICE's revenue rose about 3 percent to a record $1.36 billion.
